Pope Benedict XVI has met top advisers at the Vatican to study requests from Catholic priests who wish to marry. The Pope and his cardinals discussed the case of a married African archbishop, excommunicated last year for ordaining other married priests. Correspondents say no change in the mandatory celibacy rule is expected. Thousands of priests among about 400,000 worldwide have left the Catholic Church in order to marry in recent years. The Vatican has released no statement yet on the meeting. The Pope had called together all his top advisers - the cardinals heading different Vatican departments - to discuss the case of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, the former head of the Roman Catholic Church in Zambia. He was excommunicated last month after ordaining four married priests as bishops in the United States. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

The Nevada town of Pahrump is taking a stand not just against illegal immigrants but flags they may bring with them. The elected town board in the remote Mojave Desert community voted 3-2 on Tuesday to enact an ordinance making it illegal to fly a foreign nation's flag by itself. Flying another country's flag, whether it is a British Union Jack or the flag of Mexico, is punishable by a $50 fine and 30 hours' community service, unless it is flown below an American flag."Old Glory is sovereign," says Paul Willis, a retired carpenter and board member. "You can't fly any other nation's flag higher than the American flag."The American Civil Liberties Union says the flag restriction violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech."There's no doubt about it," says Lisa Rasmussen, a board member of the Nevada ACLU. "People have a right, as much as we don't like it, to fly ... any flag they wish."...http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-15-foreign-flags_x.htm?csp=34

Spain, Italy and France are to launch a new Middle East peace initiative, Spain's prime minister has said. "Peace between Israel and the Palestinians means to a large extent peace on the international scene," Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said. He said a plan would be put to an EU summit in December and he hoped it would be backed by the UK and Germany. The proposal would include an immediate ceasefire and the formation of a Palestinian unity government. The other three components of the plan would involve an exchange of prisoners, talks between Israel's prime minister and the Palestinian Authority president and an international mission in Gaza to monitor a ceasefire. The announcement came amid fresh violence in the region. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6154702.stm

The United States and key European countries failed to make any progress with Russia on the scope of U.N. sanctions that Iran should face for refusing to rein in its nuclear program and suspend uranium enrichment. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Wednesday there were still "wide gaps" between the Russians and Europeans, a view echoed by Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin. The five veto-wielding Security Council members — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — and Germany have now held six rounds of closed-door talks here with both camps refusing to budge. "We'll report back again that after the sixth meeting, we are still basically where we have been," Bolton said. Asked whether there had been any progress since the talks began, he said, "Well, we didn't make any progress today — let's leave it at that." ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/16/world/main2188786.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2188786

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has opened a conference on the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region with a new plan for the peacekeeping force there. The plan envisages strengthening African Union peacekeepers, leading to a hybrid force with UN troops, whose deployment Sudan has up to now refused. Analysts say it is unclear if Sudan will accept the plan, being discussed at the conference in Ethiopia. More than 200,000 people have died in three years of conflict in Darfur. The BBC's Adam Mynott in Addis Ababa, where the conference is taking place, says the meeting followed acceptance by the UN that Sudan was not going to allow the replacement of African Union (AU) peacekeepers by a UN body. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6153208.stm

Thunderstorms that tore up homes and buildings across the South hit North Carolina early Thursday, killing at least six people there and leaving thousands without power. The storms had already claimed one victim in Louisiana. "We've stepped across bodies to get (to) debris and search for other bodies here this morning," said Columbus County Commissioner Sammie Jacobs. Jacobs said Sheriff Chris Batten told him there were at least six fatalities "and quite a few people with various injuries here and there who have been taken to various hospitals." ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2658164